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A Good Dose of Vitamin H

“The best reason for a rider to study and understand horse behavior is that learning their logic can keep us from a runaway of our own – an emotional runaway.” – Anna Blake, Horse Trainer & Author

As Joanne and I put our tack away, I asked when she'd be out to ride the next day. I would have to come early in the morning and would like to ride with her again.

“I can't come till later in the afternoon, sorry,” she answered. “I am going to bring Barb, one of my coworkers, out with me.”

“Oh good, is she a rider?” I asked. Joanne has two horses and always enjoys having someone ride one while she rides the other.

“No, Barb's never even been around horses before,” she answered. “She's been having a rough month though. She just lost her husband after he fought a hard battle with cancer. I just want her to get out here, you know?”

“Yeah, I know. Everyone needs a good dose of Vitamin H,” I smiled.

“Biotin?”

“No, 'H' for horses.”

We both knew after years of running to the stables as our safe haven, that laughter is not always the best medicine; horses are. Whether you ride them, brush them or just stare at them, they bring our racing thoughts and emotions to a standstill if we let them. Horse people know the calming effect of gazing into their deep liquid-brown eyes. We know that grooming a horse’s tail can take us back twenty years to the soothing feelings we got while brushing our little girl’s hair. There’s no smell as refreshing to our weary senses as newly cut grass or hay. The birds sing sweet background music for us while we get some exercise mucking stalls. We may not necessarily be completely emotionally healed in one afternoon, but definitely placed in that direction.

Because the more you fill your heart with light and beauty in the present, the more you can crowd out the dark and ugly of the past and future.